8/8/2017 football Edit

Rivals 100 DE talks Alabama and Georgia

Chad Simmons • Rivals.com

Recruiting Analyst

Chad Simmons is a Recruiting Analyst for Rivals.com. He was the expert on The Next Class on Fox Sports South from 2011-2015. He currently covers Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi.

THE LATEST: Rivals 100 defensive Dante Walker is one of the top pass rushers in the 2019 class. The 6-foot-3, 240 pound junior out of Riverdale (Ga.) is the No. 83-ranked prospect in the country.

He has pulled in some major offers including ones from Alabama and Georgia. He spent time on both campuses over the summer and each school impressed him.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: "Alabama and Georgia were the only two schools I visited over the summer and I camped at both of them," said Walker. "Georgia offered me pretty early and Alabama offered me back in the spring.

ALABAMA: "It was my first time visiting Alabama and I have a lot of fun. I competed, I worked with some great coaches and it was a great experience. The atmosphere was there, there was a lot of great competition and I feel I got better. I worked with coach [Karl] Dunbar on the defensive line and he really gave me some good lessons. He worked with my technique, he worked with the way they do it and he is a great coach. The coaches were very smart and they really stood out to me. They just a powerhouse team."

GEORGIA: "I have been to Georgia before, so I knew more about them. I had fun at the coach and I worked with coach [Tray] Scott. He is fun guy, he is an up-tempo guy and he was good to work with. I loved his energy. Georgia has been coming at me hard, so they seem to like me a lot. I got to spend time with Kirby Smart and he is a cool guy. He is chill and he is easy to talk to."

FAVORITES: "I haven't started to think about favorites yet. I like Georgia and Alabama, but I don't have a favorite. I have offers from North Carolina, Ole Miss and Mississippi State too, so I am just staying patient."

NO RUSH: "I am just going to wait things out with recruiting. I do not plan to commit until my senior year. I would love to go to the Alabama-Florida State game this season, but I have not really thought much about visits yet. I am just going to be real patient with everything."

RIVALS REACTION: Walker is very talented with good size and one who can really get after the quarterback. He had 13 sacks as a junior with close to 100 tackles. His goal this season is 150 tackles, but that may be tough with the way teams run away from him. His childhood favorite was Florida State, where his mother played basketball, but he has not heard much from the Seminoles yet.